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Operation Friday the 13th

Never before in naval history had two surface fleets caused so much damage to each other in fifteen minutes as in the early morning hours of November 13, 1942.

More than 10,000 sailors from both sides died in the vicious battle, most of them in the first half hour of the action.

The Japanese lost two battleships, a cruiser, three destroyers and ten maru transports. They lost nearly 100 airplanes.

The Americans lost two cruisers, seven destroyers and twenty-seven airplanes.

In a battle that had all the aspects of a barroom brawl, here is the almost minute by minute action report of the ships and the men—the bravery, the courage and the mistakes that helped change the tide of the war.

Praise for Lawrence Cortesi

“A hybrid of history and docudrama… Informative, detailed and involving” – LibraryThing

Lawrence Cortesi was an American school teacher and prolific writer, who published multiple books, often telling history as a story in his trademark style. Born on August 6, 1923, he married Frances Barringer and had four children. He died on October 12, 1987.